Julia Colmenares
Climate events in California, an 18th-century English walled garden near her home, Epping Forest, and research trips to Devon and Somerset all influence her practice. Her imagery, often exploring tensions between cultivated and wild environments, delves into the gestural possibilities of mark-making as a means of expressing emotion and internal reflection. Colmenares’ recent series of monoprints, I Float Above and Through, was conceived of from February onwards of 2025 and explores colour and the undulating movement-patterns of the natural environment. The title suggests the wind and a metaphysical state of being. This series is built up from graduated rolls of ink covering the steel plate; the ink is reductively and additively pulled and pushed using hand, rags and brush. She works both from memory and photo reference. Whether methodically planted or an array of indigenous plants or beautiful weeds, the work mirrors the unruly to staged environments through the gestural marks of drawing and painting. Originally from California, she earned a BA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She later studied painting in France and completed an MA in Fine Art at Byam Shaw School of Art, London. Her print work has been widely exhibited since 2012 in a variety of independent shows and large mixed exhibitions. Highlights include: the Threadneedle Prize, the National Print Competition at Bankside, Wells Contemporary and shown regularly at the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair (2018–2024). In 2024, her print, Wild Lands Reverie and in 2025, Cosmic Fern, were selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.
Climate events in California, an 18th-century English walled garden near her home, Epping Forest, and research trips to Devon and Somerset all influence her practice. Her imagery, often exploring tensions between cultivated and wild environments, delves into the gestural possibilities of mark-making as a means of expressing emotion and internal reflection. Colmenares’ recent series of monoprints, I Float Above and Through, was conceived of from February onwards of 2025 and explores colour and the undulating movement-patterns of the natural environment. The title suggests the wind and a metaphysical state of being. This series is built up from graduated rolls of ink covering the steel plate; the ink is reductively and additively pulled and pushed using hand, rags and brush. She works both from memory and photo reference. Whether methodically planted or an array of indigenous plants or beautiful weeds, the work mirrors the unruly to staged environments through the gestural marks of drawing and painting. Originally from California, she earned a BA from the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. She later studied painting in France and completed an MA in Fine Art at Byam Shaw School of Art, London. Her print work has been widely exhibited since 2012 in a variety of independent shows and large mixed exhibitions. Highlights include: the Threadneedle Prize, the National Print Competition at Bankside, Wells Contemporary and shown regularly at the Woolwich Contemporary Print Fair (2018–2024). In 2024, her print, Wild Lands Reverie and in 2025, Cosmic Fern, were selected for the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.